Formula SAE
Formula Society For Automotive Engineering (FSAE) is a collegiate competition where teams from around the world design and manufacture a race car, typically in a years time. Countless hours are dedicated to the race car and the culmination of all the effort is a competition with the other teams.
FSAE served as my entrance into the engineering development lifecycle, and it taught me I have a lot to learn.
Engine, Drivetrain, and Electrical Design Lead
My roll was that of the Engine, Drivetrain, and Electrical Design (EDE) leader. I lead a group of multidisciplinary students through the design, manufacturing, integration, and testing of five EDE Package components: differential housing and hangers; cooling system and radiator; wiring harness and housing; a pneumatic shift system; and a custom heads up display. Additional responsibilities included engine tuning on a chassis dynamometer and engine disassembly and component inspection.
Differential Housing
Fabricated from 6061-T6 Aluminum, this black anodized differential housing reduced the mass of the rotating assembly by 28% and decreased the moment of inertial by 18%. I designed the housing, created the engineering drawings, and worked with the manufacturer to get these produced.
Ultimately, the design did its job, but failed shortly thereafter; however, it served as a learning opportunity. First I learned that I should have used O-Rings instead of RTV to keep an oil-tight seal between the two components. Second, I learned that it is easy to get lost in CAD and think things are far larger than they are in reality. The dowel pins did not have enough bearing material to press against and deformed the mating component until rotation between the parts was possible — leading to part failure.
Resonance Tuned Headers
These 304 Stainless Steel 4-2-1 unequal length headers are resonance tuned; providing better cylinder evacuation at critical RPMs for the race car. I deigned these headers in SolidWorks, working with 3D splines and a bunch of constraint equations.
The Team
Accomplishing something great without a team is extremely rare, and RM21 was no exception. Pictured with the car are all the team leaders. These are the people that made the conscious decision to trade most of their stereotypical college experience for real-work engineering experience, and we built lasting bonds in the process.